Hot Lines Revealed – What Everyone Will Be Talking About at ESC Congress 2024

European Society of Cardiology Press Release 

Key take-aways 

• The world's leading cardiology experts will convene at ESC Congress 2024 in London this summer. 
• 12 Hot Line sessions will be held in the Main Auditorium, where eagerly awaited findings from recently completed clinical trials will be presented for the first time. 
• These presentations have the potential to change the way that patients are treated in clinical practice in the future.  

Sophia Antipolis, 30 July 2024: The results of 38 major studies will be presented in 12 Hot Line sessions at the world’s largest cardiovascular congress, hosted in London by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). 

Professor John McMurray, ESC Congress Programme Committee Chair, said: “Hot Lines provide answers to unresolved clinical questions that healthcare professionals around the world have been waiting to hear, sometimes for years. The Hot Line programme in London has it all − new treatments, novel procedures, cutting-edge innovations and head-to-head comparisons, which have the potential to be huge steps forward in the advancement of patient care.” 

The first Hot Line session, kicks off with HELIOS-B, a trial assessing the effects of a new type of RNA therapy for transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy, a deadly disease for which few effective treatments currently exist. Another presentation will uncover whether stopping beta-blockers, one of the most commonly used medications after a heart attack, is better than long-term continuation.  “Unquestionably, ABYSS is a very important trial as it tackles an everyday issue faced by all cardiologists. For years, we have given beta-blockers to patients after a heart attack, but now we have new modern treatments and we are uncertain whether prolonged beta-blocker treatment remains the best strategy,” said Professor McMurray.  

Another Hot Line session focusses on the treatment of high blood pressure. “Novel data presented on Saturday will help guide patients on when is the best time to take their anti-hypertension tablets – morning or evening – and will also tell us whether taking three or four different blood pressure-lowering medicines combined into a single pill is beneficial,” commented Professor McMurray. Elevated blood pressure and hypertension are also one of the topics covered by four new ESC Clinical Practice Guidelines that will be presented in London.  

How to effectively repair damaged heart valves will be explored in other Hot Line sessions. “One of the trials, RESHAPE-HF2, is testing a new minimally invasive procedure to treat moderate-to-severe mitral valve leakage in patients with heart failure. Surgery is often too risky in these patients and medications are not sufficient to relieve symptoms. We will have to wait and see if using catheters to implant a mitral valve clip will help provide a solution,” noted Professor McMurray.  

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become a commonly used alternative to surgical repair but the relative benefits of TAVI compared with surgical repair specifically in women are unknown. “The RHEIA trial is the first dedicated randomised, controlled trial to compare TAVI and surgical repair in women and, whatever the outcome, this trial is groundbreaking in increasing our understanding of how to treat women with cardiovascular disease effectively.”  

Technological innovations to improve the management of patients with suspected heart attacks are covered in the final Hot Line session on Monday, including integrating artificial intelligence and applying a new rapid point-of-care test.  

“The packed Hot Line programme is complemented by an additional 26 Late-Breaking Science sessions that cover important clinical trial updates, present the latest insightful data from large-scale registries and observational studies, and explore the more exciting new basic science breakthroughs,” concluded Professor McMurray.  

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